When the Nets fired Avery Johnson on Thursday, the media immediately began to speculate that the Nets' first choice would be Phil Jackson. That got us thinking, "What if the Nets hired Jerry Sloan?"

A former NBA All-star, now-Brooklyn point guard Deron Williams has been widely blamed for the departure of Sloan, the legendary former coach of the Jazz, and Johnson's dismissal is now the second time in three seasons Williams' coach has been dismissed midseason.

Johnson is also the second coach to be dismissed this year in the NBA; previously, the L.A. Lakers fired Mike Brown after a disappointing start. Immediately, rumors of Jackson's return to the sideline began, and the situation is no different this time around, though it appears the Nets may have more interest in Jackson than he has in them.

During the last vacancy and during several other NBA offseason coaching vacancies, Sloan's name has surfaced, so we, the Deseret News sports staff, began to wonder how Williams would react if Sloan decided to coach the Nets.